"Danny!" Kol's shout echoed up the stairs. I kept my gaze on Lukas, who seemed annoyed. Despite Kol's repeated calls, I stayed put, my eyes locked on Lukas. He blinked at me, then shifted his attention back to his laptop. "You can go to him," he finally said.

I got to my feet just as the door swung open, revealing a rushed-looking Kol. He hurried over to me and enveloped me in a tight hug. "I'm going to kill you," he whispered in my ear. "I thought something was wrong." In that moment, I was ecstatic. All the worries about Monster, Boris, and Har faded away. Kol cared about me, and that was all that mattered. I felt a warm flush spread across my cheeks, and I didn't care one bit.

"You care," I said with a smile as we pulled away from the hug. Kol shot me a questioning look, and I couldn't help but chuckle. His fingers gently brushed against my cheek, and in that moment, I wanted to smile at him forever. It was becoming increasingly difficult not to fall for Kol. God damn, Kol, how am I supposed to not like you?

"What is it?" he asked, "You aren't dying, so why did you call me down here?" Kol actually looked worried. I'll admit, for a moment I was dazed by all of this. I was actually in my own world. All I could see was his eyes. All I could focus on was his hand caressing my cheek. His touch on my cheek sent shivers down my spine, and for a second, I felt like I was in love (but I knew I wasn't). I should not be feeling like this. That snapped me out of my little daze and I blinked toward Lukas who unsubtly looked away from us to his laptop. "Not here. Let's go to your room."

"Danny, this better be important."

"Trust me, Kol, this is really fucking important."

"Okay..." he muttered and moved away from me. He left his brother's room, leaving Lukas and I. I walked to him and took a seat at the edge of his bed. He didn't look at me. I rest my hand on his thigh to get his attention and stared at him. "What's up with you, man?"

"You can't possibly be asking me that, right?" he asked me with a forced chuckle.

"What?"

"What do you mean? He's never been that way, ever, with any of us. He just fricking met you, and... Whatever. You two can go do whatever you do. I don't even care," Lukas replied dismissively, his attention firmly on his laptop. I watched him for a moment, trying to make sense of his reaction, but eventually, I turned and left the room.

I headed to Kol's room and locked the door behind me, feeling a mixture of confusion and frustration. Kol's room was predictably messy, a stark contrast to his brother's neat and organized space. Piles of clothes were scattered around the room, spilling over from his bed to the chair and even onto the floor. It was a familiar sight, one that had become a part of his daily life. He was sat on his bed, with his phone in his hand. He looked so captivated by that tiny device, if only he knew I was coming in here to reak havoc with my words.

"Okay, so I'm in deep shit." I said instantly, forgetting his messy room. Kol rose his eyebrows and looked to me in confusion. I remained against the door, keeping my palm and back pressed against it. Kol was standing now, still with that perplexed look.

"What now?" he asked me. He leaned against his small table and folded his arms across his chest. "You're in some deep shit as well." I said and walked away from the door to sit on his bed, shoving away a few pieces of clothes. He turned his head to look at me.

"What?"

I didn't waste any time getting to the point. "Boris and Har. The guys you owe money," I reminded him, my arms folded across my chest as I leaned against the wall. Kol's reaction was immediate. His jaw dropped, and a string of curses escaped his lips as he processed the implications of my words. He eventually moved to sit beside me on the bed, and I raised an eyebrow, silently urging him to respond.

"Boris and Har..." he said softly and looked down. He ran his hand over his head and a weary sigh left his lips. "Shit." So he's aware. Great. What fricking now?

"Why do you owe them money and how much do you owe them?" I asked him with furrowed eyebrows. 

"A lot," he said softly. I was ready for some bad news, but what he revealed next caught me completely off guard.

"Why? What did you do?" I pressed, my concern growing. Kol hesitated, his teeth sinking into his bottom lip before he finally confessed, "Okay, I may have a slight gambling problem..."

I couldn't believe my ears. Gambling? He had a gambling problem? My mouth hung open, and I struggled to find words to respond to this revelation. The absurdity of it all left me momentarily speechless. Why would he get involved in something as reckless as gambling? Doesn't he know that that's literally a downward spiral? I wanted to slap him for his apparent stupidity, but I held back my anger and chose my next words carefully.

"How much are we talking about, Kol?" I asked, a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.

Kol appeared nervous, his face betraying his unease and fear. It was clear that he fully comprehended the magnitude of the mess he'd gotten himself into. When I pressed him further, his response sent a shockwave through me.

"55k," he admitted, and the weight of the situation crashed down on me like a ton of bricks. What the actual fuck? What the actual FUCK?!

"I am going to fucking murder you. They need their money back, Kol!" I almost shout, but I realized we weren't alone in the house. But my whisperd tone was still very loud, making him aware that I was pissed as fuck. "What the fuck is wrong with you? Didn't you ever realize you were fucking losing? So you should fucking stop?"  I was so angry. I was so upset. His debts had nothing really to do with me personally, but I was just mad at his stupidity. Blinded by anger and frustration, I acted impulsively. Without even thinking, I rushed towards Kol and delivered a resounding slap across his face. The sound of the impact echoed in the room, and for a moment, I just stood there, breathing heavily, my hand stinging from the force of the slap. Kol's stunned expression mirrored my own.

"What the fuck?" he cursed. I didn't even respond. I turned around and ran my fingers through my hair. He is going to die. I am going to die, but he is definitely going to die before me. He makes my 15k look like nothing, 

"What does this even have to do with you? Why are you fucking involved?" he asked me and shook his head.

"Because, idiot," I seethed through gritted teeth, "they want me to deliver you to them."

"How much are they giving you?" he asked. He was still craddling his cheek, but he dropped his hand, probably not trying to seem weak. I couldn't help but feel frustrated by Kol's response. He seemed so self-absorbed, his first question being about how much I was being paid. It was as if he was trying to gauge his own worth to them.

"They are spearing my life and frankly I think that's quite enough." I replied, shocked that he'd actually ask that. I leaned closer to Kol, my voice low and urgent. "But if you just give them back their money, all of this could be avoided," I pleaded. 

"Where the fuck am I going to get their money, Danny?"

"Oh I don't know, rich boy, where will you get the money?" I asked sarcastically. Kol laughed and shook his head. What a great opportunity for a laugh. "You don't get it, Danny, we're broke. Anna is the only source of income in the house right now and I can't really take that money to repay my dues," he admitted. Once again, my heart sunk. He is 100% going to die at the hands of Boris and Har.

"Your parents were rich, where's the money they left you guys?" I asked him. They must have money. They have this huge house, they have all these bedrooms and fancy shit. They have everything, how the fuck are they broke? At this point I was desperate for a positive answer. Anything that wasn't negative, I was happy about.

"Gone." He answered. That's not what I fucking wanted to hear. I groaned loudly and stood up. I faced the door and stared up at the ceiling. This is insane. Kolton is insane. We're both going to die.

"Why are you so stupid, Kolton? How could you-" I stopped and took a breath. I need to calm down. He's going to get me fucking killed. This isn't working. Breathing slowly isn't working. I'm pissed as hell. "How the fuck could you gamble all your money away? When you realized you were losing, why didn't you just, I don't know, STOP FUCKING GAMBLING?!" I knew I had already said this to him before, and I was well aware that I was repeating myself, but there just wasn't much else to say. No other words I could muster seemed capable of breaking through his thick skull. It was as if he was literally digging his own grave. "What are you going to do now? What am I supposed to do now? Am I supposed to give up my life for you and your idiocy? Jesus Christ, Kol!" I was shouting and he was telling me to be quieter but I didn't care. I wanted to shout. I feel like I should just fricking deliver him to them because he's so fricking stupid.

"Danny, relax-"

"Please don't tell me to relax. I will cut you. I swear to God, I will." I said through gritted teeth. I don't know what I'm going to do. Frankly, I thought I would pass him over and he'd reach into his Rich Boy pants pocket and pull out the cash and everything in that bummed out situation would be over. But that's not the case. That's the furthest thing from the case. He has no money. He's broke. He's more broke than me.

"Look, I'll get the money, okay, you don't have to be so dramatic."

"I'm dramatic.." I chuckled sarcastically. "I'm dramatic and you're fucking stupid. How do you intend to get the money and don't you dare say gambling because if you haven't realized it yet, you suck. You probably have a higher chance of winning the lottery than winning even a penny in your stupid gambling games. So gambling is out of the question. What do you plan to do? Please, inform me. Go ahead." I paused for a moment and waited for him to speak. He didn't say anything, just as I expected. Of course he has nothing to say.

I should just kill myself. I'm going to die twice. I'm certain of that. Kol would never allow me to hand him over without money because he'll die and if I don't do that, I'll die. Plus, Monster wants his money, which I also don't have, and in the end, I end up dead. Great. Life is just swell isn't it?

"We could just kill them," he suggested which made me laugh. I shook my head in laughter, then turned around to the door. "Now he's talking about murder, great."

"Look, they're both unnecessary in the world, no one would even miss them."

"Okay, Kol, lemme make this clear," I turned to face him. I walked up tp him and pressed my hands on both his cheeks, ensuring his eyes stay on me, "As much as I like you and I like other guys and sex with guys, I am not going to prison for that. I will not murder two guys because you couldn't pay back what you owe."

"For god sakes, Danny."

"Lemme just take you to their place, please." I took a step back from him. "Then you can decide what you want to do and I'll leave and everything would be fine. Just let me take you to them so I could be out of that, please." I almost begged him on my knees. Monster is enough for me to handle. I rather die at his hands than kill two guys for Kol.

He took a seat on the edge of the bed and gazed up at me, his expression unflinchingly calm. My words didn't seem to ruffle him in the slightest. His eyes drifted to the floor. Can't he just care for me, and allow this to happen the way its supposed to be--him dying and me dying as well but not by the same hands. He checked the watch on his wrist then looked up at me. "Okay, fine, let's go to them."

"Seriously?" I asked him and perked up a bit.

"Seriously. Let's go." Kol nodded, his face expressionless. He stood up, his long legs striding past me as he made his way to leave the room. I watched him go, a little shocked that he had actually agreed to my plan. After taking a moment to collect myself, I turned and walked out of the room, heading toward Lukas' room.

I reached Lukas' room and found him engrossed in a video game. Lukas was in his own world, completely absorbed in the video game. He seemed so content, blissfully unaware of the events about to unfold. His brow furrowed in concentration as he manipulated the controller, his eyes locked onto the screen with laser-like focus. He was lost in the virtual reality of the game, a world where he could escape from the harshness of his real-life problems. Little did he know that his world was about to be disrupted. He was so focused on the screen that he didn't notice me until he flickered his eyes to me in the doorway as I spoke, "Hey... we're going out."

"Why are you telling me that?" he asked me.

"Because you'll be alone."

"I'm always alone, Daniel. I'll see you around."

"Yeah. I hope so." He flashed me a look but I turned and left the room before he could speak about it. Hurrying down the staircase, I discovered Kol casually leaning against the railing at the bottom. He greeted me with an eye roll when I finally reached him, his trademark display of nonchalance.

"I'll call them and-" I started but he cut me off.

"No. Don't. It'll be like a surprise." He smiled. I didn't. I'm not stupid. He's planning to do something and I'm certain--100% sure--its something stupid.